Triple: Episode 4

Overall, I am really enjoying this show and appreciate the casting, but I think I’m having a problem with Su-in (or is the issue with Lee Hana?). I haven’t decided whether it’s purely a character thing or an acting thing, but if Su-in were one of the seven dwarves, she’d be Mopey. But at least the rest of the cast makes up for it with their natural, joking dynamic and refreshing ease with one another.

SONG OF THE DAY

짙은 (Zitten) – “곁에” (By my side). This is not my favorite 짙은 song, but it’s the one played in the opening scene. [ Download ]

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EPISODE 4: “Gala Show”

After Hwal punches Hyun-tae, he drives off in anger, but can’t tamp it down and returns to face Su-in. Although she meets his return with a hopeful face, that fades quickly as he demands, “Do you enjoy playing around with men?” He calls her shameless and a liar, and while she admits to the first, she defends herself against the latter.

Hwal tells her to live however she wants: “And keep me out of your life”

I think it’s adorable how Haru practices various ways of saying thank you in return for the skates (and the puppy), only by the time Hwal comes home, she’s fallen asleep under the desk (still clutching her skates).

As he takes her to her own room, he encounters Hyun-tae in the hallway. The air is awkward for a moment, until Hwal apologizes for hitting Hyun-tae, who guesses that Hwal and Su-in know each other.

Hae-yoon waits in the lobby of a movie theater for Sang-hee, who fails to show. He finds her at the bar, and is irritated to see Sang-hee enthusiastically entertaining a group of young hockey players (students, I believe).

As she closes up later, Sang-hee suggests that Hae-yoon could help her, but he’s not feeling generous at the moment and reminds her that she’s not his girlfriend. She points out that she’s a friend, and he says he’s never slept with a woman and become (just) friends afterward. As with many of their interactions, this one isn’t angry or even upset; Hae-yoon tends to go between treating Sang-hee with boyfriendy affection and resignation when she flakes on him.

As Su-in waters her yard that night, still smarting from Hwal’s reaction, she notices the basketball hoop that has been set up but doesn’t know where it came from. (Hyun-tae had previously wondered if he looked cool playing basketball and had dragged over a hoop to her yard.)

She gets a joking text message from Hyun-tae to cheer her up; the message reads, “Head-butt queen, do you like raccoons?” Su-in has to laugh-cry at that — and while I think Hyun-tae is rather forward, I think her reaction shows that she isn’t totally UN-interested in him. (The timing’s bad, and she doesn’t really think of him in the way he thinks of her, but I think there’s hope for him despite his unsuccessful attempts to draw her out.)

In the morning, Haru continues brainstorming to figure out how to show Hwal her thanks. I think she’s lovable and plucky, but she does have a history of accidents, so my immediate reaction to her exclamation “I got it!” was a cautious “Uh-oh…”

Thankfully, the task is simple: She washes his car. And Wal must be the most well-behaved puppy ever because it’s a wonder that he sits patiently as she washes the car while holding him.

Haru finds tufts of dog fur in the car, which confirms that Hwal was the one who brought Wal back home. She wants to hear him say it, though, so when he walks by, she prods, “Oppa, some really strange things happened yesterday! My skates appeared, and so did Wal. What do you think happened?”

Hwal is a bit embarrassed to admit he did that for her, so he ignores her and changes the subject. Haru isn’t daunted, knowing he cares even if he doesn’t want to admit it, and grabs him in a hug. She pledges her loyalty from now on.

The new company suffers a setback, however, when Hwal gets a call from Manager Park of the beer company reneging on the deal. Now that he’s had time to think, he concludes that they were both overreaching their capabilities, and feels uneasy about the fact that the ad company is so new and small. When Hwal tries to understand what prompted this change of heart, Manager Park blows him off and doesn’t offer much of an explanation.

Sang-hee realizes she’d flaked on their planned date and apologizes to Hae-yoon. He’s feeling down from losing out on the ad account, and she cheers him up, telling him how fantastic their company is and assuring him that they’ll get back on their feet.

Maybe it’s what he needs to hear, or maybe her supportive speech is the kind of thing a girlfriend would say, but it does the trick in lifting Hae-yoon’s mood.

Hyun-tae again waits outside to catch Su-in on her way out from coaching practice. She’s pretty tired of him showing up unexpectedly and tries to ignore him, but her car has trouble starting up, and he takes it upon himself to fix it.

As he works, Su-in broaches the subject of the run-in the night before, wondering if Hwal explained everything to Hyun-tae. She admits that she messed everything up, but doesn’t explain further. Hyun-tae doesn’t know the full story yet, but he says that he couldn’t sleep that night because he was preoccupied wondering about her. Despite her irritation with his pushiness, Su-in is a little touched to hear him say he came to see her today because he missed her.

Haru invites Hwal to see her next performance (which is also a chance for her to repeat the test she failed in Episode 2). He notices how she had time to wash his car today because she skipped the school picnic, and asks if she’s a loner at school. He already knows she’s a loner at the rink because he saw her being pranked, and it’s sorta sweet to see him worry about her, even if he won’t admit it. Haru isn’t concerned about not having friends, though, and instead chatters on about her improved jumping levels.

There’s a hilarious moment when Hwal looks over to see that Haru is standing on a tilted chair in order to reach the curtains, and is balancing perfectly on the back two legs. After she leaves, he eyes the chair and attempts the trick himself, but struggles — which is when Haru pokes her head back in and catches him mid-attempt.

In the morning, Hwal is revved up about work and determined to give things another try. He’s not about to let one failure stop him cold.

Hyun-tae’s working on a plan of his own, but he doesn’t let his friends know what it is just yet. He does ask Hwal for presentation tips, however, and takes to heart the advice, “Don’t take your eye off your opponent.”

The head of Bokman Chicken is a friend of his father’s, and now Hyun-tae attempts to present his ad ideas in a bid to get their account. His idea is good, though the execution a little sloppy — he tosses one ball at the president, who catches it. He then starts launching a barrage of balls at the men as an analogy to demonstrate how merely throwing ads and ideas at the consumer is an ineffective technique. The president finds the concept interesting, but it isn’t quite developed enough yet. Hyun-tae has to return in defeat.

Hwal gets to work trying to woo another client, and has his sights set on a brand of “kiddie juice” called Kokoma juice. Hae-yoon is the least enthusiastic about this idea because it’s a tough gig (and most of its ad campaigns have met with crushing failure), but Hwal says that if the guys can find another project, they can do that instead.

Despite knowing Hwal is angry at her, Su-in calls him for a little support when her mother is admitted to the hospital for a chronic (and seemingly terminal) illness. Her mother either doesn’t know or doesn’t accept that Su-in’s marriage is over, and grumbles at how it’s rude for her son-in-law not to visit. (I’m not quite sure if Hwal and Su-in are divorced, or still married and estranged.)

Hwal seeks out the president of the kiddie juice company at the gym, coming on assertively (but respectfully) with his pitch. After seeing a mother’s reaction to the juice in the supermarket, Hwal recognizes that the juice has a branding problem, and suggests that the company redesign their bottles to change its image. Hwal asks to be included in the competition to bid for the account, and gets his wish.

Hyun-tae returns to pitch to the chicken company boss again, and soldiers on through his presentation even though the man doesn’t seem to be paying attention. He’s prepared five approaches to market the brand, and when he presents the last idea, he readies himself for defeat. Contrary to his expectation, the president takes a liking to the tactics presented, and tells Hyun-tae he’s brilliant for thinking of a way to market all five ideas in one ad. Hyun-tae unsuccessfully starts to correct him — they were five separate ideas! — but is ignored, and gulps nervously.

One of the hockey players from the other night returns to Sang-hee’s bar, and Hae-yoon (who’s working upstairs in her private room) does not look favorably upon the new guy. His name is Jae-wook and he’s a little goofy, impressing Sang-hee with tricks like stuffing multiple cookies into his mouth.

In his jealousy, Hae-yoon interrupts their conversation several times by dropping (on purpose) a pen and papers and getting Sang-hee to retrieve them for him. So immature, but hilarious.

With her test/performance coming up, Haru wants to beef up her program and try more advanced elements, like the sort of things Hye-jin does. She entreats her coach several times, invoking Hwal’s words that she won’t know if she can do it or not until she tries for herself. Su-in says those are nice words, but they’re also dangerous because she’s putting herself at risk by rushing into things; she thinks Haru is reaching beyond her capabilities and tells her no.

Since his advice was only half-effective, Haru goes back to Hwal to ask for clarification, because her coach told her that it was rash advice. Hwal retorts that sometimes without rash actions, one cannot achieve great progress, and Haru likes that answer.

In her excitement, she tosses a toy basketball at the wall, where it knocks over a picture frame and breaks the glass. She’s immediately contrite, but I suppose Hwal is used to her accidents by now and sighs that he’ll clean it up.

Haru wants to catch up to Hye-jin’s level of skating, so she follows the other girl when she attempts a triple combination jump. After Hye-jin falls, Haru tries the same combo, and falls as well. Although Haru’s intentions are good, Hye-jin is annoyed at her for following her, and slaps her.

I suppose you could see Hye-jin as a snooty bitch character, but her actions are given more explanation later, when she and Su-in watch Haru on the ice. Su-in finally relents and tells Haru she can attempt the jump — as long as she doesn’t regret it if she fails — and now Haru is busy working on them. She falls down but gets up laughing, which strikes Su-in as remarkable.

Hye-jin grumps, “Honestly, I can’t understand. You’re all strange.” But Su-in sees through Hye-jin’s attitude and commiserates, saying she knows that the rink seems like hell right now. Hye-jin’s face starts to contort in tears as Su-in gives her advice: “Don’t be afraid you won’t meet up to your mother’s expectations. Don’t try to become the skater that other people want you to be. Be the skater you really want to be, and then this hell-like rink will become a lot better. It might even feel like heaven.”

The guys are feeling particularly lethargic on a rainy day (and the rain becomes sort of a centerpiece for this episode), not able to come up with any good ideas.

Hwal wanders over and notices something near the window: the paper with the painted footprints (Haru’s) mark a spot on the ground, and when he steps on them, his face looks out of a rectangle toward the shed, framing Haru’s goofy painting of Hwal. It’s Haru’s response to breaking his photo frame the night before, and Hwal has to smile.

Hwal calls over the guys, and they laugh at the sight, their lethargic mood uplifting. Jokingly, they hold up colored plastic sheets to the frame to add a tint to Hwal’s portrait — which gives Hwal an idea.

Haru appears at the window to prod Hwal to come jogging with her.

Haru’s energy is infectious as she dances around Hwal, running in the rain. Even when he jerks her to a stop by pulling her hood over her head (saying, “You’ll catch a cold”), Haru takes that as encouragement, saying, “Are you worrying about me?”

When Hwal returns from his run, he’s invigorated and armed with a new idea for the juice presentation — and it centers around Haru.

As I said, the rain is something of a centerpiece for character developments in this episode, bringing a measure of clarity to the relationships. Hae-yoon calls Sang-hee out to reclaim their missed date, and sit outside drinking wine, enjoying the rain.

Hyun-tae plays basketball in his yard, while Su-in looks outside at her own front yard.

Now getting down to business, Hwal recruits Haru for a part in the presentation. Not one to let opportunity pass her by, Haru tries to strike a bargain — if she helps him, will he come see her performance? He isn’t willing, so she starts to walk off, and he grudgingly agrees to her terms.

As he explains her role, Haru gives him a long look, and it’s here that we start to see the suggestion of something more developing between them. But it’s just for a brief moment, and she shakes it off saying it’s good to see this (nicer) side of him.

When it’s time to give the presentation, it starts with Haru entering the room, carrying an umbrella and strolling in to the strains of “Singin’ in the Rain.” The mood is light and easy, but suddenly changes to an action-movie vibe as the lights change, and she launches into an acrobatic sequence that mimics the sequence — you know, that one — from Entrapment.

When Haru completes her gymnastic bit, Hwal takes over, explaining that kids like the juice but there’s an image issue with the colors, which give it an unhealthy image. They’ll turn that perception around and use the colors — vibrant, energetic, healthy — as a key point in promoting the drink.

The presentation is a hit, and the guys can all feel that they’ve done a fantastic job. The response is so good that the call comes immediately, and the president congratulates them for a job well done.

However, he explains that his son — who is in advertising — recently came to him and begged him for the job. While the son has never been particularly talented, the president can’t turn down his own child, so he proposes that the two groups work together. While the words make it sound like “collaboration,” Hwal understands that this means that the president wants to use their idea and let his son take credit for it. Regretfully, he turns down the offer.

Hwal lies moping in bed when a knock sounds at the door, and a note slides underneath. He opens it and finds a message from Haru:

Haru’s note: “Oppa. Since living with you, I’ve been learning lots of things, and I learned something this time, too. Thanks, oppa. I’m competing today. You don’t have to come. I’ll wear the skates you bought me and work hard like you do.”

That, of course, prompts Hwal to get out of bed and head over to the rink. He watches as Haru performs — and lands her jump, to her own joy and Su-in’s excitement. He claps for her, approval mixing with pride.

Haru steps off the ice in tears of joy at landing the jump, which intensify when she looks up and sees Hwal watching. He waves, and gives her a thumbs-up.

Meanwhile, Hyun-tae once again comes to the rink to see Su-in, but this time, he doesn’t approach. He tells himself that he just wants to see her, nothing more, seemingly having decided to give up on her. However, at the last moment, he decides he can’t just leave like this and follows her car.

Su-in heads to the hospital, where she finds Hwal visiting her mother; Mom had called him to tell him to drop by. Su-in is mortified and apologetic that Hwal felt obligated to come, and tells him not to worry about anything her mother might say.

The two head outside after visiting, and they stop and stare for a moment when they see Hyun-tae waiting outside. He’d taken up a spot on the bench to await Su-in. The two guys look at each other for a long, wordless beat; Hyun-tae marks the moment with a wry half-smile.

And finally, sometime later that night, Haru assists Hwal to his room, his dragging feet and slumped posture suggesting he has gotten drunk.

She tucks him into bed and watches affectionately as he sleeps, and falls asleep next to him.

COMMENTS

As I mentioned, I’m not really feeling Su-in that much. I want to like her, but she is so… gahhh. Down. Gloomy. Energy-sucking. The scenes with the three guys are enjoyable, and Haru is a burst of energy. I’m on the fence about Sang-hee but she has her cute moments. Yet Su-in is just… blah.

Please, Lee Hana, can you drink a Red Bull or something or otherwise find a way to amp up that energy level? I have liked her in the past, but I think she’s wrong for this role and I don’t see a lot of chemistry with her and any of the actors. Min Hyo-rin, the utter newbie, has a lot more chemistry with everyone.

I think Su-in’s lackluster quality also drags down Hyun-tae, and makes his actions seem even more dissonant with reality than they actually are. He’s an endearing guy, both actor and character, and while I definitely wish he’d back off a little, he’s harmless enough. He’s open and honest and totally up-front about his intentions, but watching him trying to court Su-in begs the question, “Why?” It’s a little like trying to woo a brick wall. The brick wall seems hard and unmoving, while the adorable guy trying to win it over looks foolish for the attempt.

I was thinking back to all those other kdramas that feature women who return after leaving their men and want reconciliation, and it’s a hard thing to pull off successfully. They are characters you’re meant to like less than the main heroine, and her reason for leaving the hero has to be pretty bad for him to have been so hurt by her. But since these women are meant to stick around all series long, they should still be sympathetic on some level, otherwise you’re watching a cartoon and she’s merely the Evil Bish. I think Lee Hana has to be added to the list of misfires with these types of characters, in addition to those like Park Shi-yeon in My Girl, Cha Soo-yeon in The World They Live In, Byun Jung-soo in Last Scandal, Park Han-byul in Fantasy Couple, and so on.

The only instance I can think of where the returned ex-girlfriend worked is My Name In Kim Sam-soon, and that’s because Jung Ryeo-won was given a chance for her character to show her friendly, warm side before we discovered why she did what she did. Chae Jung-ahn in Coffee Prince sorta worked in that I came around to her character, although I never fully warmed to her and liked her mostly because Lee Seon-kyun’s character was so in love with her.

Meanwhile, the hint of something more developing with Hwal and Haru is… while not totally surprising, a little unexpected. I had wondered whether they’d pair up when the drama first started, but the appearance of Song Joong-ki (so cute!) as the speed-skating Poong-ho seemed to suggest he’d be the age-appropriate love interest for Haru. And they’re so cute together that I’m rooting for them.

On the other hand, Lee Jung-jae is fabulous at giving his character depth — if you’re picky, you might say he’s the only one who is doing that — and it’s meaningful how much Haru has already changed him. I’m not icked out by the age difference — Yoon Kye-sang and Go Ara were fine in Who Are You — or the pseudo-sibling thing because they barely know each other, in addition to sharing no blood. (It’s like Cher and Josh in Clueless, which I never had an issue with.) Plus Min Hyo-rin is 23 and Lee Jung-jae 36 in real life, which is not an unheard-of age gap. But maybe with BOTH aspects working at once, it feels a little weird. I dunno. But I’m open to it, so we’ll see what happens.

June 18, 2009 at 9:18 PM

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I was wondering who to root for at the beginning of this drama. I wasn't feeling Su-in and now I'm totally rooting for Haru and Hwal. I wanted to know if it was wishful thinking but seeing how there are certain hints and you see it too, I'm happy. I don't find them weird at all and they are so cute! Hope there are more cute moments to come!

June 18, 2009 at 9:26 PM

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I see that a lot of people are having issues with Su-in / Lee Hana. I think the main problem is the character. The writer is not giving much depth in her character and the fact that Su-in is constantly appologizing to Hwal makes the character rather pathetic and unattractive. And Lee Hana is not fit for this type of character. I personally don't have much problem with Su-in/LHN but I'm in the minority. They really should do something about her character. YKS is the main reason I'm watching this show and I don't want Su-in character to bring him down.

On the other hand, I really like Haru.. she's so cute and I really like the closeness developing between Hwal and Haru. I don't find their relationship icky at all. I think they look really good together.

June 18, 2009 at 9:31 PM

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Song Joong Ki is so cute! I'd like to see how he'll come in to play (if at all).

Hwal and Haru...I just don't know.
It's not the age difference or the pseudo-sibling relationship (they don't bother me)...but I just don't see them as a romantic coupling. I see Haru more as the impetus for Hwal becoming a warmer human being and ultimately being able to forgive Su In.

June 18, 2009 at 9:45 PM

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Well, she can't help but to be all mopey and apologetic since it was her fault in the first place. I wonder if they're going to go into more details about that. All we know is she cheated, but we don't know why she did. Is it worth the mention at all?

If she's sudden all happy-go-lucky, it gives the impression that she's not sorry for what she did. Let her mope for now. Surely it won't go on forever.

I really want Hwal to forgive her and move on with his life. I don't want them to get back together. I find Haru and Hwal cute and I'm all in for this ship, but sometimes I find myself not caring.

June 18, 2009 at 9:54 PM

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I agree with hjkomo. Bonding experiences between Hwal and Haru does not mean that it's leading to a romantic relationship. I don't think it's the age difference so much as the vibe that's being set up between them as brother-sister. There's none of the intense emotions he evidently has for Su-in, albeit negative ones. And I also see Haru as the impetus for Hwal to open up more to people in general.

It'd be nice if at the end Hwal and Su-in get together, Haru and the speed skater get together, and Hae Yoon and Sang Hee get together. Hmmn...where does that leave Hyun tae? Waiting to meet a woman who can appreciate his adorableness?

June 18, 2009 at 10:02 PM

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May be it's only me but I don't feel for Haru character. She's ok, but it's like the surface of water. I can't see her cute or lively like YEH in Coffee Prince before.
About LHN: I felt for Su In and I think Hwal still holds feelings for her, just he's too mad at her. I agree that Su In was not given enough depth - no explanation for her fault in the past - and not much revelation of their romance, or how Hwal loved her before. So, she's like standing in no where. Even that, I prefer Hwal and Su In because they match each other. I can't see Hwal with Haru.

June 18, 2009 at 10:34 PM

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I am loving the drama already javabeans. Although I can't find the videos yet but your recaps gives so much insight that I feel like I actually am watching them. I am anticipating where there bonding of Haru and Hwal are going into..

June 18, 2009 at 10:40 PM

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Lee Jung-jae makes my heart skip a beat when he smiles. It just catches me off guard and I am like wow, he is so handsome.

I am rooting for Hwal and Haru...I just felt there was something there from the very first episode that could definitely be more than step-siblings. I think it would be cool if they end up together. Not the typical kdrama formula. Plus Su-in really drains me she is like a ghost of a person.

June 18, 2009 at 11:19 PM

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I feel the same way about Su-In. She's so...blah. Although, I think the major cause of my feelings towards the character is her development and not so much the actress. Female characters who return to their exes for reconciliation don't bug me too much, but what bugs me here is the fact that she slept with another man while being married. It might be the way I feel about cheaters, but I can't warm up to her. I don't care how much she still loves Hwal. And I can't see Hyun Tae with her. Besides the fact that she was once married and cheated on his best friend, they have no chemistry.

I don't know how I feel about Hwal and Haru yet since they still feel like siblings more than love interests.

June 18, 2009 at 11:25 PM

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@ Dele, girl i know what you mean when LJJ smiles it's way too cute ^__^

like everyone i don't mind Hwal and Haru ending up together i mean what's wrong with that? Hwal might still harbor feelings for Su In but that doesn't necessary means he still loves her...Haru might bring out the love in him that he never had for Su In...this drama is still in its early stages so we'll have to wait and see where the characters are heading..Su In is like what Yul ( in Goong) did to me when i watched the drama it makes me depress and not smile anymore whenever i see him on screen..all the happiness and giddiness i felt GONE..but once he's off screen everything is back to normal...that's what a call a mode killer hehe

June 18, 2009 at 11:37 PM

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I'm on the same page about SuIn...don't know if it's the actress since I've never seen any of her other projects but her character is so ...bleh. I actually skip through her and hwal's parts just because they don't interest me as a couple.

Hwal and Haru are really adorable together and I'm actually rooting for them. The age thing doesn't bother me ...albeit she looks younger than she really is and he looks a bit older but they would make a cute couple.

This drama really does remind me a bit of Coffee Prince....the style is very similar.

June 19, 2009 at 12:01 AM

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@ilovekdramas! that leaves hyuntae for me! :D:D:D

and LOL i had the same "uh oh.." reaction when haru had that eureka moment hahaha!

and all the haru-hwal bonding moments are really really cute but i can't get myself to enjoy them. D: i guess it bothers me that even if they are not blood-related they're set up (so far) in the story as siblings. that's their status as of now in both the characters' and viewers' perspectives. so i feel like the story's kinda cheating itself when it sets them up to live in the same house as siblings.

but this set up will definitely make things interesting in terms of how the story goes about developing their romance.. i don't really doubt haru and hwal will have some sort of beyond-siblings-relationship.. unless all those awkward (in a good way) moments and previews for upcoming episodes are all lies! hahaha.

June 19, 2009 at 12:16 AM

June 19, 2009 at 12:32 AM

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I think it would be actually be pretty messed up if SI was acting happy and energetic. She cheated on her husband and so she is sorry and unhappy. I'm sure if she acted that way he would be quite ticked off. I mean she committed a wrong, happy/energetic.ness doesn't exactly send him the right message.

June 19, 2009 at 12:40 AM

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I don't feel su in from the beggining of the first episode but i'm just curious about her because hyun tae always view her in his laptap. I was really surprise then that she is the ex -wife of hwal and i couldn't imagine if hwal & haru will be together in the end that if she will know that su in is his ex-wife .Well, maybe but she looks too young to hwal . On the other hand, if haru & hyun tae there's a possibility ,i think they have chemistry when they chat each other in the table while peeling "something" . I don't know why su in is so dry in her acting maybe she felt the big lost and regrets for the rest of her life & asking of forgiveness towards hwal? So far i'm just only watch the ep.3 and the ep.4 just only read the recap of JB .

June 19, 2009 at 1:01 AM

June 19, 2009 at 1:47 AM

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Su In's character lacks depth and portrays a one-dimensional emotion. This makes her uninteresting to watch. Having cheated on her husband makes her even more unappealing to the audience. I'm hoping we get to see another side to her personality e.g. before the divorce/separation. She couldn't have been this boring before for Hwal to be in love with her.

I am not sure if I'm going to be too crazy about a romantic relationship developing between Hwal and Haru. I don't think it's the age or the so-called 'sibling relationship'. I just feel that Haru seems to need to get to a certain level of maturity for the relationship to somehow work. Maybe that'll happen if that's the angle for the ending but right now, I'm not so sure....

June 19, 2009 at 3:55 AM

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Halfway through the post, I was going to type already that Su-in make me feel sleepier and an energy sucker but you already mentioned it like hell lota times.. And you aren't wrong about that. Why are they dragging the whole thing like this!?

Give the guy a break. And send them both on a holiday. I don't see how can they make her character better, since perhaps they are trying to show her maturer than the rest? She feels like she dropped in from another sentimental drama, doesn't belong in here!

Rest is aweeeeeeeeeeesome!! I was on verge of tears when I read the part abour Hwal coming to see Haru perform.

Funny thing though, just as stuff got better between these two siblings.. Things got better here between me and my elder brother too =\ since i wasn't seeing much of him, but tht's just a coincidence!

June 19, 2009 at 5:47 AM

June 19, 2009 at 5:58 AM

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I agree with 0987 @ #20

it very much goes in line with the character. plus this actually works in favor of the drama. you have to have differences in character dynamics - if everyone acted the same, i think that would be boring. (even worse - aren't there tons of korean dramas where ALL the characters act like Su-In? )

June 19, 2009 at 6:05 AM

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@hjkomo i agree with you that i don't even imagine that Hwal & Haru to become
a couple but for Hyun Tae & Haru i can also picture out that they will be together
in the end. The part of this drama,i just keep on waiting that there is excitement
scene between hwal & haru , none ever since but as a sibling relationship you
can feel the warm embrace. Although, hyun tae keeps on pushing his self to SI
hope there is a twist of the story or waiting a woman who can appreciate him .
I don't care who's the love interest of YKS in here as long as i can watch him every project he made and i'm waiting this for so long .thanks for recap JB and
I love all the soundtract you download.

June 19, 2009 at 6:12 AM

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I'm a bit underwhelmed by ep 3, 4. It still has its moments, but with the novelty wearing off, I'm a bit cautious.....esp when I do like the first couple eps of CP but then everything got too predictable and the latter half lost me with all style but lack of substance. I'm a bit afraid this will head that way, I'm still optimistic, there is enough going on to entertain me still when the relationships can go in all directions.

*sigh* I do love LHN, but both her acting and how the character is written made her impossible to grasp, let alone rooting for her. She's a cheater, period. Even with a perfect explanation, SI needs to be much more a character, sth that can explain y Hwal fell for her in the first place. I wondered if her character was written with Sang Hee's carefree/mildly floozy personality, will it be a better fit?! She was a star skater and I expect a certain air and presence. I don't need her to be bubbly and merry, she can mope all she wants esp in private, but when it's excessive like here, in every scene, it's almost as if she's not doing enough self reflection of her demise, and I even wonder if she's blaming Hwal on treating her badly. He's still harboring explosive intense feelings for her, and you just wouldn't get this hurt if u didnt really fall hard (so I'm guessing the writer is leaning more towards this pairing at this pt)...but y her?! They basically eloped and got married, much more serious than just a romance. I hope we'll get more details fast, or else SI will totally lose me.

June 19, 2009 at 7:14 AM

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Gosh i read all you're opinion,and i thought some of you could write a story by your own(absolutely,after watched so many kdrama).Im typical an eazy viewer kdrama,if im enjoy,i'll watch it till the end and if not i'll watch it till the end too (after bitching whole episodes,and gave advices to not watch it anymore to anybody).Is it called an eazy viewer?BTW WHERES THE LAST EPISODE OF SoM?(aint a pusher just asking).*not a pusher with that capital lock*

June 19, 2009 at 10:00 AM

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As always, awesome recap! However, the more I watch every episode the more I got curious. We all know that Hwal & Haru are sort of related, but do you guys ever have a glitch that they could be a couple?! For some reason, Haru & Hwal's relationship seems caring of course, but there's a little bit of intimacy in it. Wouldn't it be something if the writers do a complete 360 and later have the 2 leads develop feelings for each other. Of course, Haru's has Ji Pong Ho and he's well suited for her. But Haru sometimes have a sick puppy-love crush on Hwal.

June 19, 2009 at 10:53 AM

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hahahaha! Mopey would be the 8th dwarf.

Neither the age difference nor the once step-sibling issues bother me. But, it would be stretching the imagination to believe that Hwal sees Haru as a woman, at this point. So far, she has behaved only like a teen-age kid sister. And, her actions are very teen-agish because she is still a teen-ager. (She is just like that cute puppy.)

However, in the course of the drama, if the Haru character display more maturity, then, I guess anything is possible.

Actually, I'm thinking that it would be interesting if the final line-up is:

Hyun-tae and Su-In
Hwal and Sang-hee
Hae-yong and Haru

As always, thank you to Sarah for another insightful recap and comments.

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June 19, 2009 at 12:17 PM

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sooin too annoying already.
she needs to tell HT who she is.
i'm your best friend's (ex)-wife who cheated on him.
she is sorry but not that sorry.
now she is causing a rift between the guys,
and her using haru as her way to get back w/ her ec is really unprofessional and manipulative. naru is not their child!!!!

June 19, 2009 at 5:05 PM

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thanks for the recaps Javabeans!

Although I loved the style of Coffee Prince (must have said this for the umteenth time), I'm finding that Triple is a bit too mellow for my liking so far..hopefully it'll pick up some more energy next week!

I still love the cast though, especially Yoon Kye Sang (SO adorable.). I was surprised (but glad) to see "Mr. Hong" from Coffee Prince back in Triple! Oh the familiar faces haha.

The pairing of the characters in the drama still remains a bit of a mystery..I cannot really imagine Lee Jung Jae and Min Hyo Rin (whose character is a teenager) as a couple. I would love to watch a Min Hyo Rin-Song Joong Ki pairing though =)

June 19, 2009 at 5:22 PM

June 19, 2009 at 6:18 PM

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I agree about the ex-girlfriend bit; and about Jung Ryeo-won in My Name is Kim Sam-Soon.. in the end, I was rooting for her and not Sam-soon.. I think I became annoyed at how immature Sam-soon was towards him and I didn't understand or could relate to why Hyun Bin's character kept coming back to her when he was supposed to be happy with Hee-jin; I remember feeling exasperated and wanting him to stop. But that's a different drama and slightly off-topic.. haha :/

June 19, 2009 at 7:18 PM

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I'm watching the half-subbed videos in viikii and whilst i am getting entertained, it is not the same level as coffee prince. I know I should not compare it to CP but there is constant reference to it so I can't help but look back.

I am feeling more for the second leads' interactions (The Voice & the Curly-haired girl, sorry can't remember their names).

Whilst Haru & Hwal are not related by blood and Hwal does not even consider her his sister, I think Haru treats him like a brother so I feel kinda weird about a romantic relationship developing. It's like 'One Fine Day' and I don't like it's ending.

I am hoping Haru will help loosen up uptight Hwal and Hwal and his ex reconcile. Not sure about YKS - who to root for for him - if none, I will take him with open arms :)

June 19, 2009 at 9:18 PM

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You know what got me curious was the part when Hwal asked Haru to help him out with the presentation. When she tied her hair into a ponytail, he looked at her differently, which made me think that for a second there he thought of her as a woman!

June 19, 2009 at 11:12 PM

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It should be and definitely this drama is so much fun esp. yoon kye sang (hilarious!!). I am very worried about why su in don't tell the truth to hyun tae
that she is the ex-wife of hwal (grr..) so that he would stop spotted on her .
But more i can say to this drama is the translator at the viikii.net why they take
so long to translate it . The good thing for me i can understand a little korean
and to the recap of javabean (thanks to you!!) .

June 19, 2009 at 11:48 PM

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I totally agree with you about Su-in. I just feel so TIRED whenever I see her. It's impossible to understand why Hyun-tae likes her so much which makes him look like a total babo. ><
But everything else is so wonderful. I love that relaxed pace that seems so 'real.' The characters and the bonding between them. The adorable-ness of our 3 men.
SO CUTEEEEE

June 19, 2009 at 11:50 PM

June 20, 2009 at 8:31 AM

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So far, I am really enjoying Triple. It feels good watching another good drama right after an amazing one i.e. Story of a man.

Su In is something of an enigma for me. She doesn't drain the happiness from me like she does for many but I am still trying to figure her out. I think the reason why most of us feel that she has no depth is because the story hasn't really dwelt on her character a whole lot. We only see her when Hyung Tae is chasing her, when she is training Haru, or when she and Hwal get into the uncomfortable arguments. We don't know why she cheated - if this is a kdrama as it surely is, then there is bound to be further explanations in the future. We are only 4 episodes in so there is still a good amount of time for her character to come around (fingers crossed). Anyways, in the mean time, she needs to have less mopey/crying scenes as she is really becoming a living breathing depressant!

As for Hwal-Haru: I don't have any issues there. I think Haru will definitely be faced with emotions/feelings for him. If they end up together...yay! If they dont, then hey, she still has cutie from skating rink...in other words, she cant lose :-)

I am really hoping Triple keeps going strong and doesn't suffer from "the world that they live in syndrome"; i.e good for the first half, blah for the rest!

June 20, 2009 at 12:45 PM

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simply put, i think lee hana was miscasted in this drama.

to be honest i'm a huge fan of lee hana, and i think her acting's great but only when confined to roles that are compatible with her real life personality. it's the kim sun ah conundrum.. the main reason why viewers can't seem to distinguish her role as kim sam soon from her subsequent characters in When It's At Night and City Hall, is because these roles are all subsets of who kim sun ah herself is.. hence the overlap. well on the bright side, that's what makes her and lee hana's respective acting styles so distinct from the more versatile (but mostly less competent - think gu hye sun) pool of young actresses.

in lee hana's defense, she'd suited her characters to a T in her previous dramas, and she's got plenty of spunk. i'd pictured her role in Triple as a free-spirited and quirky skating coach before watching the drama online, and was disappointed when i found out it was quite the contrary. likewise, kim sun ah's wonderful in comedic roles, but you could never imagine her in a tearjerker or a sageuk, could you?

on an aside, the potential of a haru-hwal relationship makes me kinda uneasy.. she's playing a high schooler here, isn't she? and he's 34? that's twice her age.. their emotional maturities seems to be on entirely different planes as well. i dunno, i wish they'd just stick to warm and fuzzy familial love :/